Baby Minolta
}} The Baby Minolta (ベビー・ミノルタ) is a Japanese camera taking 4×6.5cm pictures on 127 film, released by Molta then Chiyoda (later Minolta) in 1935 or 1936. Many sources, including Francesch, p.252, Scheibel, p.21, Lewis, pp.52–3, , p.673, , item 4056, and Awano, p.16 of no.12, give 1935 as the release date. However the same sources are often mistaken about the early Minolta release dates, probably because they relied on inaccurate corporate histories published after the war. The most reliable source is , where the earliest reported articles and advertisements are dated 1936. Description http://static.flickr.com/140/324848572_159a77fc87_t_d.jpg http://static.flickr.com/142/324848570_c7391d233d_t_d.jpg Bakelite tube collapsed and extended. The Baby Minolta is a simpler camera than the Minolta Vest released earlier. It has a bakelite body covered with leather or leatherette and a bakelite telescopic tube supporting the lens and shutter assembly. There is a folding frame finder in the middle of the top plate, indicating the field of view for both 4×6.5 and 3×4 formats. The advance knob is at the left end of the top plate and film advance is controlled via two uncovered red windows in the back. http://static.flickr.com/130/322532595_623928ef2a_t_d.jpg http://static.flickr.com/137/324848550_c316752a74_t_d.jpg Bottom lock with MTS logo and camera in the open position. The film plane is curved to compensate some of the lens aberrations. To load the film, the top plate is removed together with the spool holders and exposure chamber. It is locked into place by a lever placed at the bottom. The bakelite is recessed around this lever and the words OPEN and CLOSE are moulded, together with the MTS logo, TRADE MARK and MADE IN JAPAN. The lens is a fixed-focus cemented doublet. A catalogue dated October 1941 by Asanuma gives the lens scheme, showing a cemented doublet. The word used in the advertsements is tangyoku (単玉), literally meaning "single lens" but used for cemented doublets as well: see the 1936 leaflet reproduced in this page and the August 1937 advertisement reproduced in , p.97. It wears no marking and its focal length is unknown, but probably 75 or 80mm. It has no aperture setting and its maximal aperture is not mentioned in the advertisements. Some sources say that it is a Coronar 80/8 Francesch, p.252. , p.672, says Coronar Anastigmat and Scheibel, p.21, says Achromat-Coronar. but the use of the Coronar name (used for a triplet design) is very unlikely. The shutter gives 25, 50, 100, B speeds set on a dial at the top. It is everset and the release lever is attached to the shutter plate. It is said that about 2,000 examples of the Baby Minolta were produced per month, accounting for a total production of 50,000 examples. 2,000 examples per month according to Tashima Gizō (son of Tashima Kazuo, founder of the company), interviewed by Saeki Kakugorō on p.78 of no.12. 50,000 total production: Awano, p.7 of the same magazine. Evolution http://farm1.static.flickr.com/128/345870422_82dcb572fe_d.jpg Baby Minolta, first variant. Extract from a leaflet dated about 1936. Scan courtesy of Andrea Apra. First variant The first variant has small indexes in the finder to indicate the field of view for 3×4cm exposures. There is a metal advance knob with a low profile and either a flat top or concentric rings. Flat top: examples pictured in Francesch, p.252, and in Sugiyama, item 4056. Concentric rings: example pictured in this page. The shutter plate is marked PATENTS PENDING at the top and BABY MINOLTA at the bottom. It has the MTS logo of the Molta company on the right and a chain of small circles drawing a decorative pattern on the contour. The camera was first featured in the new products column of the April 1936 issue of Asahi Camera. , p.342. The first variant appears in advertisements dated April, May and August 1937 and January 1938. April 1937: published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p.98. May 1937: advertisement published in the 9 May 1937 issue of Sunday Mainichi, reproduced in the Gochamaze website. August 1937: published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in , p.97. January 1938: published in Asahi Camera, reproduced in Tanimura, p.15 of no.118. The same version is still pictured in an advertisement published in Shashin Shinpō reportedly dated January 1940, reproduced in Hagiya, p.10 of no.12. Perhaps there is a date mistake, or the company was using old pictures in the advertisements. The price was in 1937 (case ¥2 extra) and in 1938. Second variant http://static.flickr.com/138/322533511_daecffa874_t_d.jpg Shutter plate. The second variant has two bars in the finder for 3×4 format. The metal advance knob has a higher profile and a recessed centre and the shutter plate is marked PATENTS NIPPON instead of PATENTS PENDING. Third variant http://static.flickr.com/128/322533521_5766c1cd5d_m_d.jpg http://static.flickr.com/128/322533513_86850377d6_t_d.jpg Baby Minolta, third variant. Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. The third variant has a new shutter plate design with three stripes on each side. It is marked PATENTS NIPPON at the top and BABY MINOLTA at the bottom, and it does not have the MTS logo. Fourth variant http://static.flickr.com/124/322533522_44f8e56a82_m_d.jpg http://static.flickr.com/127/322532594_ddb86a45c0_t_d.jpg Baby Minolta, fourth variant. Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. The fourth variant has a black bakelite advance knob instead of the metal knob. It appears in an advertisement dated December 1939, Advertisement published in Shōgakusei no Kagaku, reproduced in the Gochamaze website. where it was offered for . An advertisement in English depicting the third or fourth variant is reproduced in Francesch. Francesch, p.23. This may indicate that the company tried to export the camera. The Baby Minolta was listed in the official price list compiled in October 1940, for ¥10. , type 2, section 1. Case http://static.flickr.com/144/324848547_0707401f26_m_d.jpg http://static.flickr.com/144/324848549_54c7dd673a_m_d.jpg Early and late Baby Minolta case. Pictures courtesy of eBayer hbpartner. Two types of cases are known. One has the MTS logo and probably corresponds to the first and second variants. The other is embossed Baby Minolta and probably corresponds to the third and fourth variants. Notes Bibliography Original documents * Asanuma Shōkai. Shashinki to zairyō (写真機と材料, Cameras and supplies). Catalogue dated October 1941. P.7. Document partly reproduced here in rebollo_fr's Flickr space. * Type 2, section 1. * Molta Gōshi-gaisha. Danzen kesshutsu shita kokusan kamera (断然傑出した国産カメラ, Definitely excellent Japan-made cameras). Leaflet dating about 1936. Document owned by Andrea Apra and reproduced here in rebollo_fr's Flickr space. Recent sources * Item 277. (See also the advertisements for item 272.) * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Minolta shōryaku" (ミノルタ略史, "Minolta short history"). Pp.6–8. * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Senzen no Minolta kamera" (戦前のミノルタカメラ, "Prewar Minolta cameras"). Pp.13–7. * P.252. * Hagiya Takeshi (萩谷剛). "Kōkoku ni miru Minolta kamera no rekishi" (広告に見るミノルタカメラの歴史, "Minolta camera history seen through the advertisements"). Pp.9–12. * Pp.52–3 (brief mention only). * P.673. * Saeki Kakugorō (佐伯恪五郎). "Tashima Gizō-shi ni kiku" (田嶋義三氏に聞く, "Asking Tashima Gizō"). Pp.76–9. * Pp.20–1. * Item 4056. * Tanimura, Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Semi Minolta I-gata to II-gata (sono 2)" (セミミノルタⅠ型とⅡ型(その2)). no.118 (April 1987). P.15: advertisement for the Minolta range, published in the January 1938 issue of Asahi Camera. * Zaisu Ikon (座椅子遺恨, of course a pseudonym). "Besuto sanka (B-1)" (ベスト讃歌B-1, Vest hymn B-1). In no.57 (March 1982). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. P.6. Links In English: * Minolta cameras using 127 film in the Manual Minolta website In Japanese: * Baby Minolta and more pictures in Miyazawa Noriyuki's camera site * Baby Minolta in the Kitamura camera site * Advertisements reproduced in the small format camera page and the camera company page of the Gochamaze website: ** Advertisement for the Baby Minolta, published in the 9 May 1937 issue of Sunday Mainichi ** Advertisement for the Baby Minolta and Minolta Vest, published in the December 1939 issue of Shōgakusei no Kagaku In Chinese: * Baby Minolta in a Chinese blog Category: Japanese 4x6.5 viewfinder Category: Bakelite Category: Minolta Category: B Minolta, Baby Category: 1936